As the NFL and the New England Patriots continue to scramble to deal with the fallout of the Aaron Hernandez murder investigation, the league and video game partner EA Sports has taken one more step in their attempt to sever their relationship with the former tight end.

According to CBS Sports, video game publisher EA Sports has announced that Aaron Hernandez will not be included as a player in "Madden 14," the upcoming installment in the company's annual NFL video game franchise. The report also stated that Hernandez's image will taken out of "NCAA 14," this year's installment of their college football video game, which is due out Tuesday.

Hernandez had never been set to appear in "NCAA 14" as a player. However, an image of a "player card' depicting Hernandez in a Florida Gators uniform has made the rounds on social media in recent days. EA Sports said that the image will be removed via an update.

"We made a decision to remove Aaron Hernandez from Madden NFL 25 and NCAA Football 14. Because NCAA Football 14 was finalized prior to our decision, Hernandez' image still appears in the Nike Skills Trainer," an EA Sports spokesperson said to CBS Sports. "However, he is not in the game, and anyone who unlocks that particular Nike Skills Trainer reward will receive an Alex Smith Ultimate Team player item instead. The image of Hernandez will be removed via a Title Update in the near future."

With NCAA 14 set to come out tomorrow, it is far too late for EA Sports to due anything about what is really a minor inclusion in the actual game. But it will not be difficult to adjust as part of one of the game's title launch patches. However, the fact that EA Sports was able to adapt in what is a pretty late stage in the development process in Madden 25 shows an impressive effort from the company. Madden 25 is due to release on Aug. 27, with rosters having been finalized some time ago.

Still, the association between Hernandez and the murder investigation appears to have already done a bit of damage for both the NFL and EA Sports, as evidenced by the photoshop efforts from some in the NFL fan community.